Lavatory disinfection system

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for disinfecting a lavatory inside a vehicle in response to a set of criteria being met. A determination is made as to whether a set of criteria for activation of a disinfection system that emits far-ultraviolet radiation to perform a disinfection process inside a lavatory has been met. In response to a determination that the set of criteria has been met, the disinfection system is activated to perform the disinfection process inside the lavatory using the far-ultraviolet radiation.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1. Field

The present disclosure relates generally to disinfection and, inparticular, to disinfection of lavatories. Still more particularly, thepresent disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for disinfectinglavatories on vehicles using far-ultraviolet radiation.

2. Background

Pathogens may be spread between humans, between animals, or betweenhumans and animals in many different ways. Consequently, there is anincreasing need for the disinfection or sterilization of public areasand public spaces, particularly enclosed areas and spaces. As oneexample, a single aircraft may fly to multiple destinations on the sameday. These destinations may include, for example, different airports,airstrips, or airfields in the same state, in different states, or indifferent countries. Any number of passengers and crewmembers may get onand off this single aircraft between flights. Further, the passengersand crewmembers onboard the aircraft during a single flight may be adiverse group coming from different backgrounds and environments. Theseconditions create the potential for the spread of pathogens onboard anaircraft.

One possible source for the spread of pathogens onboard an aircraft isinside the lavatory of the aircraft. Currently, the lavatories insideaircraft are cleaned manually. For example, one or more crewmembers orservice personnel may clean the lavatories inside an aircraft betweenflights. Typically, disinfectant sprays, aerosols, or other types ofcleaning solutions are used to disinfect surfaces. However, some ofthese materials may result in an undesired coating of material beingleft on the surfaces. The time required to dissipate certain types ofaerosols or sprays may be longer than desired. Further, certain types ofdisinfectant materials may have odors that may be undesirable to somepeople.

Additionally, this type of manual disinfection of these lavatories maybe more time-consuming than desired, may not be as effective as desired,or both. In some situations, performing this type of manual disinfectionduring flight may not be desirable or even feasible. Therefore, theremay be a need for a method and apparatus that take into account at leastsome of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.

SUMMARY

In one illustrative embodiment, an apparatus comprises a disinfectionsystem and an activation system. The disinfection system emitsfar-ultraviolet radiation to perform a disinfection process inside alavatory in a vehicle when the lavatory is not in use. The disinfectionsystem is inactive when the lavatory is in use. The activation systemcontrols activation and deactivation of the disinfection system.

In another illustrative embodiment, a method for disinfecting a lavatoryis provided. A determination is made as to whether a set of criteria foractivation of a disinfection system that emits far-ultraviolet radiationto perform a disinfection process inside a lavatory, has been met. Inresponse to a determination that the set of criteria has been met, thedisinfection system is activated, to perform the disinfection processinside the lavatory, using the far-ultraviolet radiation.

In yet another illustrative embodiment, a method for disinfecting alavatory located inside an aerospace vehicle is provided. Adetermination is made as to whether the lavatory is unoccupied. Inresponse to a determination that the lavatory is unoccupied, adetermination is made as to whether the lavatory has been occupied aselected number of times since a previous disinfection of the lavatory.In response to a determination that the lavatory has been occupied theselected number of times since the previous disinfection of thelavatory, a determination is made as to whether a door to the lavatoryis closed. In response to a determination that the door is closed, adisinfection system is activated to perform a disinfection processinside the lavatory using far-ultraviolet radiation. The disinfectionsystem is deactivated after completion of the disinfection process.

The features and functions can be achieved independently in variousembodiments of the present disclosure or may be combined in yet otherembodiments in which further details can be seen with reference to thefollowing description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed characteristic of the illustrativeembodiments are set forth in the appended claims. The illustrativeembodiments, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, furtherobjectives and features thereof, will best be understood by reference tothe following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of thepresent disclosure when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a lavatory disinfection system in the formof a block diagram in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an isometric view of a lavatory of anaircraft in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of another view of a lavatory in accordancewith an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an isometric cut-away view of an aircraftin accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a process for disinfecting a lavatory inthe form of a flowchart in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a process for disinfecting a lavatorylocated in an aerospace vehicle in the form of a flowchart in accordancewith an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an aircraft manufacturing and servicemethod in the form of a block diagram in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment; and

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an aircraft in the form of a block diagramin which an illustrative embodiment may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The illustrative embodiments recognize and take into account differentconsiderations. For example, the illustrative embodiments recognize andtake into account that it may be desirable to have the capability ofdisinfecting the lavatories located in a vehicle, such as an aerospacevehicle. For example, it may be desirable to have the capability todisinfect a lavatory in an aerospace vehicle, such as an aircraft,during flight. Further, the illustrative embodiments recognize and takeinto account that it may be desirable to have a method and apparatus fordisinfecting these lavatories to thereby reduce the need for acrewmember or some other type of person onboard the aircraft to performthe disinfection.

The illustrative embodiments recognize and take into account thatultraviolet radiation may be an effective form of disinfection. Inparticular, the illustrative embodiments recognize that far-ultraviolet(FUV) radiation may provide improved disinfection over other forms ofultraviolet radiation, such as, for example, without limitation,ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation. Far-ultraviolet radiation may be capableof destroying a greater number of pathogens and requires less exposuretime for disinfection. Further, with respect to human exposure,far-ultraviolet radiation may be less harmful to humans as compared toultraviolet-C radiation.

Thus, the illustrative embodiments provide a method and apparatus fordisinfecting a lavatory using far-ultraviolet radiation. Thisdisinfection may be performed in a manner that minimizes or prevents theexposure of humans to far-ultraviolet radiation. In one illustrativeembodiment, an apparatus comprises a disinfection system and anactivation system. The disinfection system emits far-ultravioletradiation to perform a disinfection process inside a lavatory when thedisinfection system is active. The disinfection system does not emit thefar-ultraviolet radiation when inactive. The activation system controlsactivation and deactivation of the disinfection system.

Referring now to the figures and, in particular, with reference to FIG.1, an illustration of a lavatory disinfection system is depicted in theform of a block diagram in accordance with an illustrative embodiment.In this illustrative example, lavatory disinfection system 100 may beused to disinfect lavatory 102.

As depicted, lavatory 102 may be located in vehicle 104. Vehicle 104 maytake the form of aerospace vehicle 106. Aerospace vehicle 106 may beselected from one of an aircraft, a spacecraft, a space shuttle, a spacestation, or some other type of aerospace vehicle. In other illustrativeexamples, vehicle 104 may take the form of a ground vehicle or a watervehicle, such as a ship.

Lavatory disinfection system 100 may include disinfection system 108 andactivation system 110. Depending on the implementation, disinfectionsystem 108 and activation system 110 may be considered separate systemsworking in conjunction with each other to form lavatory disinfectionsystem 100 or two systems that are integrated with each other to formlavatory disinfection system 100.

Disinfection system 108 may use far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation 112 todisinfect lavatory 102. Activation system 110 may control whendisinfection system 108 is activated and when disinfection system 108 isdeactivated. When activated, disinfection system 108 enters active mode116 where disinfection system 108 emits far-ultraviolet radiation 112.When in inactive mode 114, no far-ultraviolet radiation 112 is emitteduntil the disinfection system 108 is reactivated. In some cases,inactive mode 114 may be referred to as a “standby” mode, becausedisinfection system 108 remains inactive and on a temporal “standby”until the activation or the reactivation of disinfection system 108.

In one illustrative example, disinfection system 108 includesultraviolet radiation source 118. Ultraviolet radiation source 118 maytake the form of, for example, without limitation, far-ultraviolet lightdevice 119.

Ultraviolet radiation source 118 may be configured to emitfar-ultraviolet radiation 112, which may also be referred to asfar-ultraviolet light. Far-ultraviolet radiation 112 may have awavelength between about 150 nanometers (nm) and 240 nanometers (nm). Inone illustrative example, far-ultraviolet radiation 112 may be selectedas having a wavelength of about 222 nanometers.

Ultraviolet radiation source 118 may be mounted to any surface insidelavatory 102, a surface within a vent or other access opening that opensinto lavatory 102, or some other type of surface. In particular,ultraviolet radiation source 118 may be mounted to a location thatallows far-ultraviolet radiation 112 emitted by ultraviolet radiationsource 118 to encounter the greatest number of surfaces inside lavatory102. As one illustrative example, ultraviolet radiation source 118 maybe mounted to attachment location 121 inside lavatory 102.

Attachment location 121 may be any location inside lavatory 102 or onany surface of lavatory 102. In one illustrative example, attachmentlocation 121 may be selected such that far-ultraviolet radiation 112emitted by ultraviolet radiation source 118 reaches the largest portionof the greatest number of surfaces in lavatory 102 that need todisinfected. For example, without limitation, attachment location 121may be on a top surface or ceiling of lavatory 102 or on a top portionof a side surface of lavatory 102. As another example, attachmentlocation 121 may be on the interior-facing side of door 134 that opensto lavatory 102.

In some illustrative examples, ultraviolet radiation source 118 may emitfar-ultraviolet radiation 112 in the form of one or more beams. Theseone or more beams may be focused beams. In some cases, ultravioletradiation source 118 may be mounted to rotating device 120. Rotatingdevice 120 may be used to rotate ultraviolet radiation source 118 torotate the one or more beams of far-ultraviolet radiation 112 such thatfar-ultraviolet radiation 112 becomes incident on more than one surface.

As depicted, disinfection system 108 may also include number ofreflector devices 122. As used herein, a “number of” items may includeone or more items. In this manner, number of reflector devices 122 mayinclude one or more reflector devices 122. Each of number of reflectordevices 122 may be positioned inside lavatory 102 such thatfar-ultraviolet radiation 112 that encounters the reflector device maybe reflected. In particular, number of reflector devices 122 may bepositioned such that far-ultraviolet radiation 112 is reflected onto atleast one selected surface inside lavatory 102.

In some illustrative examples, disinfection system 108 may also includereflective material 124. In one illustrative example, reflectivematerial 124 may take the form of reflective coating 125 applied toplurality of surfaces 128 inside lavatory 102 to reflect far-ultravioletradiation 112 onto at least one selected surface inside lavatory 102. Inother illustrative examples, reflective material 124 may be part of thesurface material of each of plurality of surfaces 128.

Reflective material 124 may selectively reflect far-ultravioletradiation 112, but not electromagnetic radiation of human eye opticalwavelengths. Consequently, reflective material 124 may be inconspicuousto the human user. For example, a human user of lavatory 102 may beunaware that reflective material 124 is present. In other words,reflective material 124 may not be noticeable to humans.

In this manner, far-ultraviolet radiation 112 emitted by ultravioletradiation source 118 and far-ultraviolet radiation 112 reflected bynumber of reflector devices 122, reflective material 124, or both may bedirected towards and encounter plurality of selected surfaces 126. Oncefar-ultraviolet radiation 112 encounters plurality of selected surfaces126, far-ultraviolet radiation 112 begins disinfecting plurality ofselected surfaces 126. Disinfecting plurality of selected surfaces 126comprises destroying potential pathogens that may be present onplurality of selected surfaces 126.

Plurality of selected surfaces 126 may include any surfaces insidelavatory 102 that may need to be disinfected due to the potential forcontact with at least one of a person, animal, or object carrying anynumber of pathogens. Plurality of selected surfaces 126 may include, forexample, without limitation, surfaces on and around a toilet insidelavatory 102, surfaces inside and around a sink inside lavatory 102, afloor of lavatory 102, one or more door handles, one or more drawerhandles or cabinet knobs, other types of surfaces that can becomeinfected through contact with at least one of a person, animal, object,or some combination thereof.

Activation system 110 may control whether disinfection system 108 is inactive mode 116 or in inactive mode 114. Active mode 116 may also bereferred to as a disinfecting mode or an operational mode, in somecases. Activation system 110 may include sensor system 130 andcontroller 132. Sensor system 130 may be used to detect when lavatory102 is occupied or unoccupied and when door 134 to lavatory 102 isclosed or open.

Sensor system 130 may include number of sensor devices 131 formonitoring the occupancy of lavatory 102 and whether or not door 134 isopen or closed. Number of sensor devices 131 may include any number ofdifferent types of sensor types that are configured to detect and signalwhen the lavatory is occupied or empty. For example, without limitation,number of sensor devices 131 may include at least one of a motionsensor, an occupancy sensor, a thermal sensor, an open/close sensor, aninfrared sensor device, an ultrasonic sensor device, a floor pressuresensor, or some other type of sensor.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one of,” when used with a list ofitems, means different combinations of one or more of the listed itemsmay be used or only one of the items in the list may be used. The itemmay be a particular object, thing, or category. In other words, “atleast one of” means any combination of items or number of items may beused from the list, but not all of the items in the list may berequired.

For example, “at least one of item A, item B, and item C” may mean itemA; item A and item B; item B; item A, item B, and item C; or item B anditem C. In some cases, “at least one of item A, item B, and item C” maymean, for example, without limitation, two of item A, one of item B, andten of item C; four of item B and seven of item C; or some othersuitable combination.

Sensor system 130 may monitor the occupancy of lavatory 102 and thestatus of door 134 with respect to being open or closed and generateinformation based on this monitoring. This information may take the formof, for example, without limitation, at least one of an electricalsignal, a radio signal, an optical signal, some other type of wiredsignal, some other type of wireless signal, or some other type ofsignal. Sensor system 130 may send this information indicating whetheror not lavatory 102 is occupied, and whether or not door 134 is open, tocontroller 132.

Controller 132 may be implemented using hardware, firmware, software, orsome combination thereof. Controller 132 may use the informationreceived from sensor system 130 to determine whether set of criteria 136has been met. In this illustrative example, set of criteria 136 mayinclude lavatory 102 being unoccupied, door 134 to lavatory 102 beingclosed, lavatory 102 having been occupied a selected number of timessince a previous disinfection of lavatory 102, a selected amount of timehaving passed since a previous disinfection of lavatory 102, a selectedamount of time having passed since some reference point in time orevent, some other type of criteria, or some combination thereof.

The selected number of times that lavatory 102 may need to be occupiedsince a previous disinfection of lavatory 102 may be, for example,without limitation, one time, two times, three times, or some othernumber of times. In some cases, no occupants may enter lavatory 102after a previous disinfection. Consequently, in some cases, the selectednumber of times that lavatory 102 may need to be occupied since aprevious disinfection of lavatory 102 may be set to zero times.

The selected amount of time that may need to pass since the previousdisinfection of lavatory 102 may be, for example, without limitation,five minutes, ten minutes, thirty minutes, one hour, two hours, fivehours, twenty-four hours, or some other period of time. When lavatorydisinfection system 100 is being used for the first time, there may beno previous disinfection to consider. Consequently, the selected amountof time may be with respect to some other reference point in time.

In one illustrative example, set of criteria 136 may include a thresholdlevel of pathogen presence, a threshold level of impurity presence, orboth, within lavatory 102. For example, without limitation, sensorsystem 130 may include at least one of an air sampling device, an airquality sensor, a pathogen detection system, or some other type ofsensor device capable of detecting the level of pathogens, impurities,or both present in lavatory 102. Pathogens may include pathogens on asurface, airborne pathogens, or both. Impurities may include, forexample, inanimate contaminants on a surface, airborne inanimatecontaminants, or both. This type of criterion may be met when thethreshold level of pathogen presence, threshold level of impuritypresence, or both has been met.

In these illustrative examples, set of criteria 136 may at least includethat lavatory 102 be unoccupied such that disinfection system 108 isnever in active mode 116 when lavatory 102 is occupied, for safetyreasons. In response to controller 132 determining that set of criteria136 has been met, controller 132 activates disinfection system 108,thereby placing disinfection system 108 in active mode 116. Uponentering active mode 116, disinfection system 108 may begin performingdisinfection process 138 to disinfect plurality of selected surfaces126. In some cases, far-ultraviolet radiation 112 may also be capable ofdisinfecting the air inside lavatory 102 by at least one of destroyingor neutralizing pathogens, impurities, or both.

In some illustrative examples, door closing mechanism 135 may beassociated with door 134. When controller 132 determines that lavatory102 is unoccupied and that all criteria in set of criteria 136 have beenmet except for door 134 being closed, controller 132 may engage doorclosing mechanism 135. Door closing mechanism 135 closes door 134automatically, such that the criterion of door 134 to lavatory 102 beingclosed, can then be met.

Disinfection process 138 may include, for example, without limitation,emitting far-ultraviolet radiation 112 from ultraviolet radiation source118 for selected period of time 140. In some cases, disinfection process138 may include rotating ultraviolet radiation source 118 continuouslyor periodically during selected period of time 140.

Exposure of plurality of selected surfaces 126 to far-ultravioletradiation 112 for a short period of time may destroy, for example,without limitation, greater than about 95 percent or more of thepathogens present on plurality of selected surfaces 126. Selected periodof time 140 may be selected based on the minimum amount of time neededto fully disinfect lavatory 102 within selected tolerances. The minimumamount of time needed to disinfect within selected tolerances may be afunction of, for example, without limitation, the energy offar-ultraviolet radiation 112 incident per square centimeter.

As one illustrative example, selected period of time 140 may be theminimum amount of time needed to fully disinfect plurality of selectedsurfaces 126 such that greater than about 99 percent of the undesiredpathogens inside lavatory 102 are destroyed. Selected period of time 140may be selected as, for example, without limitation, about 3, 5, 8, 10,15, 20, 30, or some other number of seconds.

Once disinfection process 138 has been completed, controller 132deactivates disinfection system 108, thereby placing disinfection system108 in inactive mode 114. In some cases, door 134 to lavatory 102 may beopened during disinfection process 138. If sensor system 130 detects theopening of door 134 during disinfection process 138, then controller 132deactivates disinfection system 108 to place disinfection system 108 ininactive mode 114.

By using ultraviolet radiation source 118 that emits far-ultravioletradiation 112, the emission of far-ultraviolet radiation 112 fromultraviolet radiation source 118 may be halted substantially immediatelyupon deactivation of disinfection system 108. For example, whendisinfection system 108 is deactivated, ultraviolet radiation source 118may be turned off such that the emission of far-ultraviolet radiation112 is halted within less than a second.

Depending on the configuration of ultraviolet radiation source 118, theemission of far-ultraviolet radiation 112 may be halted withinmilliseconds or microseconds. Using an electric arc-based source asultraviolet radiation source 118 may enable the halting of the emissionof far-ultraviolet radiation 112 within milliseconds or microseconds.

For example, ultraviolet radiation source 118 may be equipped with acontroller switch that halts power supply to far-ultraviolet radiationsource 118 within a desired, relatively short time following the openingof door 134 to lavatory 102. In this manner, the safety of any person oranimal that opens door 134 to lavatory 102 during disinfection process138 may be ensured.

In some illustrative examples, indicator device 142 may be associatedwith an exterior of lavatory 102. Indicator device 142 may display avisual indication of whether disinfection system 108 is in active mode116 or in inactive mode 114. As one illustrative example, indicatordevice 142 may be a digital display. In some cases, indicator device 142or some other type of indicator device may be used to visually indicatewhen disinfection process 138 has been completed and lavatory 102 isready for use.

In this manner, lavatory disinfection system 100 provides an effectiveand fast system for disinfecting lavatory 102. Using far-ultravioletradiation 112, which has a shorter wavelength and higher frequency thanother types of ultraviolet radiation, such as ultraviolet-C radiation,may be more effective than using lower-frequency, longer-wavelengthultraviolet radiation. Far-ultraviolet radiation 112 may be used to atleast one of destroy or neutralize pathogens, impurities, or both.Pathogens may include bacteria, viruses, other types of microorganisms,or some combination thereof. A short-time exposure to far-ultravioletradiation 112 may destroy a desired percentage of pathogens. Forexample, far-ultraviolet radiation 112 may enable destruction ofsubstantially all contaminants present. Further, using far-ultravioletradiation 112 as compared to other types of longer-wavelengthultraviolet radiation may reduce the amount of power required forlavatory disinfection system 100.

Although the activation of disinfection system 108 is described above asbeing automated by activation system 110 based on set of criteria 136being met, in some illustrative examples, disinfection system 108 may becapable of being manually activated. For example, without limitation,disinfection system 108 may have an additional manual activation switchdevice that may be operable by, for example, a human when the lavatoryis unoccupied or vacant.

In other illustrative examples, lavatory disinfection system 100 mayinclude one or more mechanical systems capable of physically moving oneor more components inside lavatory 102 during disinfection process 138to expose additional surfaces for disinfection. As one illustrativeexample, a mechanism may be associated with a toilet inside lavatory102. This mechanism may be used to lift a lid of the toilet to enableexposure of the toilet seat to far-ultraviolet radiation 112 duringdisinfection process 138. In some cases, the mechanism may be used tolift the toilet seat of the toilet to enable exposure of other toiletsurfaces to far-ultraviolet radiation 112 during disinfection process138.

Operation of these types of mechanisms may be triggered oncedisinfection process 138 begins. For example, these mechanisms may betriggered to operate after the lapse of a timer after disinfectionprocess 138 begins or immediately after disinfection process 138 begins.

Lavatory disinfection system 100 may be implemented in such a mannerthat enables lavatory disinfection system 100 to be retrofitted inaerospace vehicle 106. Using this type of system that can be eitherinstalled in lavatory 102 of aerospace vehicle 106 during manufacturingor retrofitted to aerospace vehicle 106 during maintenance, service, orrepair may help reduce the overall costs associated with this type ofdisinfection system.

The illustration of lavatory disinfection system 100 in FIG. 1 is notmeant to imply physical or architectural limitations to the manner inwhich an illustrative embodiment may be implemented. Other components inaddition to or in place of the ones illustrated may be used. Somecomponents may be optional. Also, the blocks are presented to illustratesome functional components. One or more of these blocks may be combined,divided, or combined and divided into different blocks when implementedin an illustrative embodiment.

In other illustrative examples, lavatory disinfection system 100 may notinclude door closing mechanism 135. In some illustrative examples, morethan one door may provide access to lavatory 102. Set of criteria 136may include that all of the doors that provide access to lavatory 102 beclosed. In still other illustrative examples, number of reflectordevices 122 may be excluded and only reflective material 124 used toensure that each of plurality of surfaces 128 will be reached byfar-ultraviolet radiation 112.

In some cases, lavatory disinfection system 100 may be used to disinfecta lavatory or restroom inside a building, a restaurant, a store, a mall,an office building, or some other type of structure. Further, althoughdisinfection system 108 and activation system 110 have been describedfor use in disinfecting lavatory 102 inside aerospace vehicle 106, atleast one of disinfection system 108 or activation system 110 may beused for the disinfection of other areas inside aerospace vehicle 106.

As one illustrative example, multiple disinfection systems implementedin a manner similar to disinfection system 108 may be positionedthroughout aerospace vehicle 106. For example, one or more disinfectionsystems may be positioned within at least one of a cabin area ofaerospace vehicle 106, a galley area of aerospace vehicle 106, aninterior of a duct or vent in aerospace vehicle 106, or in some otherarea of aerospace vehicle 106. Controller 132 or some other type ofcontroller may be used to activate these disinfection systems betweenflights of aerospace vehicle 106 or during other times when there is norisk of humans or animals being exposed to far-ultraviolet radiation.

In still other illustrative examples, a system comprised of any numberof disinfection systems implemented in a manner similar to disinfectionsystem 108 and any number of activation systems implemented in a mannersimilar to activation system 110 may be used to disinfect other types ofpublic areas. For example, this type of system may be used in airportbaggage areas, airport waiting areas, airport gates, airport restrooms,airport restaurants, or some combination thereof.

With reference now to FIG. 2, an illustration of an isometric view of alavatory of an aircraft is depicted in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. In this illustrative example, lavatory 200 may be an exampleof one implementation for lavatory 102 in FIG. 1. As depicted, lavatorydisinfection system 202 is present inside lavatory 200. Lavatorydisinfection system 202 is an example of one implementation for lavatorydisinfection system 100 in FIG. 1.

Lavatory disinfection system 202 includes disinfection system 204 andactivation system 205, which may be examples of implementations fordisinfection system 108 and activation system 110, respectively, inFIG. 1. Activation system 205 includes sensor system 208, which may bean example of one implementation for sensor system 130 in FIG. 1. Sensorsystem 208 may include occupancy sensor 209 and an open/close sensor(not shown).

Disinfection system 204 includes far-ultraviolet light device 206, whichmay be an example of one implementation for far-ultraviolet light device119 in FIG. 1, and thereby, ultraviolet radiation source 118 in FIG. 1.Disinfection system 204 also includes number of reflector devices 210and reflective material 218. Number of reflector devices 210 may be anexample of one implementation for number of reflector devices 122 inFIG. 1. Reflective material 218 may be an example of one implementationfor reflective material 124 in FIG. 1.

Number of reflector devices 210 may include reflector device 212,reflector device 214, reflector device 215, and reflector device 216. Asdepicted, reflective material 218 may be applied to plurality ofsurfaces 220 inside lavatory 200.

When disinfection system 204 is in an active mode, far-ultraviolet lightdevice 206 emits far-ultraviolet radiation. This far-ultravioletradiation may be emitted towards various surfaces inside lavatory 200.The portion of far-ultraviolet radiation that encounters reflectivematerial 218 and each of number of reflector devices 210 may bereflected. In particular, each of number of reflector devices 210 may bepositioned to cause the reflection of far-ultraviolet radiation onto oneor more selected surfaces inside lavatory 102. In this manner,disinfection system 204 may be configured such that far-ultravioletradiation reaches a plurality of selected surfaces inside lavatory 200that need to be disinfected.

With reference now to FIG. 3, an illustration of another view oflavatory 200 from FIG. 2 is depicted in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. In this illustrative example, door 300 to lavatory 200 maybe seen. Open/close sensor 302 is associated with door 300. Open/closesensor 302 is configured to detect when door 300 is open and when door300 is closed.

Activation system 205 may use the information provided by sensor system208 to determine when to place disinfection system 204 in an active modeand when to place disinfection system 204 in an inactive mode.Disinfection system 204 is only activated when door 300 to lavatory 200is closed, when lavatory 200 is unoccupied, and when lavatory 200 hasbeen occupied a selected number of times since a previous disinfectionof lavatory 200.

In addition, disinfection system 204 may be activated when a selectedamount of time has passed since a previous disinfection of lavatory 200,provided lavatory 200 is unoccupied. If lavatory 200 is occupied at thelapse of the selected amount of time since the previous disinfection, acontroller, such as controller 132, of disinfection system 204 may havean override capability to ensure that disinfection system 204 does notactivate when lavatory 200 is occupied.

With reference now to FIG. 4, an illustration of an isometric cut-awayview of an aircraft is depicted in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. Aircraft 400 may be an example of one implementation foraerospace vehicle 106 in FIG. 1.

In this illustrative example, aircraft 400 has wing 402 and wing 404attached to body 406. Body 406 may also be referred to as a fuselage.Aircraft 400 includes engine 408 attached to wing 402 and engine 410attached to wing 404. Body 406 has tail section 412. Horizontalstabilizer 414, horizontal stabilizer 416, and vertical stabilizer 418are attached to tail section 412 of body 406.

Body 406 also has cockpit 420 and passenger cabin 422. In this example,passenger cabin 422 may include passenger seating in seating area 424.Further, seating area 424 in passenger cabin 422 may include storageareas, such as a number of overhead stowage bins. Passenger cabin 422may include lavatory 426 and galley area 428.

Lavatory 426 may be another example of an implementation for lavatory102 in FIG. 1. In this illustrative example, lavatory 426 may beimplemented in a manner similar to lavatory 200 in FIGS. 2-3. Further, alavatory disinfection system, such as lavatory disinfection system 202in FIGS. 2-3, may be installed in lavatory 426.

In some illustrative examples, a system comprised of one or moredisinfection systems implemented similarly to disinfection system 108described in FIG. 1 and one or more activation systems implementedsimilarly to activation system 110 in FIG. 1 may be installed inaircraft 400 such that multiple areas throughout aircraft 400 may bedisinfected. For example, this type of system may be used to disinfectgalley area 428, cockpit 420, seating area 424 within passenger cabin422, the interior surfaces of storage areas within passenger cabin 422,other areas inside passenger cabin 422, other areas inside aircraft 400,or some combination thereof.

The illustrations of lavatory 200 in FIGS. 2-3 and aircraft 400 in FIG.4 are provided for purposes of illustrating one environment in which thedifferent illustrative embodiments may be implemented. The illustrationsin FIGS. 2-4 are not meant to imply physical or architecturallimitations as to the manner in which different illustrative embodimentsmay be implemented.

The different components shown in FIGS. 2-4 may be illustrative examplesof how components shown in block form in FIG. 1 can be implemented asphysical structures. Additionally, some of the components in FIGS. 2-4may be combined with components in FIG. 1, used with components in FIG.1, or a combination of the two.

With reference now to FIG. 5, an illustration of a process fordisinfecting a lavatory is depicted in the form of a flowchart inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment. The process illustrated inFIG. 5 may be implemented using, for example, lavatory disinfectionsystem 100 in FIG. 1.

The process may begin by monitoring a lavatory (operation 500). In oneillustrative example, operation 500 may be performed by monitoringoccupancy of the lavatory and a door to the lavatory. The occupancy ofthe lavatory and the door the lavatory may be monitored in operation 500using, for example, without limitation, a sensor system.

A determination may be made as to whether a set of criteria has been met(operation 502). The set of criteria may include the lavatory beingunoccupied and at least one of, for example, without limitation, thedoor to the lavatory being closed, the lavatory having been occupied aselected number of times since a previous disinfection of the lavatory,or a selected amount of time having passed since the previousdisinfection of the lavatory. The selected number of times that thelavatory must be occupied since a previous disinfection of the lavatorymay be, for example, without limitation, one time, two times, threetimes, or some other number of times. The selected amount of time thatneeds to pass since the previous disinfection of the lavatory may be,for example, without limitation, five minutes, ten minutes, thirtyminutes, one hour, two hours, five hours, twenty-four hours, or someother period of time.

If the set of criteria has not been met, the process returns tooperation 500 as described above. Otherwise, if the set of criteria hasbeen met, a disinfection system is activated to perform a disinfectionprocess inside the lavatory using far-ultraviolet radiation (operation504), with the process terminating thereafter. In this illustrativeexample, in operation 504, the disinfection process may include emittingfar-ultraviolet radiation for a selected period of time. For example,far-ultraviolet radiation may be emitted for about five seconds, tenseconds, or some other period of time.

With reference now to FIG. 6, an illustration of a process fordisinfecting a lavatory located in an aerospace vehicle is depicted inthe form of a flowchart in accordance with an illustrative embodiment.The process illustrated in FIG. 6 may be implemented using, for example,lavatory disinfection system 100 in FIG. 1.

The process may begin by monitoring an occupancy of a lavatory and adoor to the lavatory using a sensor system (operation 600). Adetermination may be made as to whether the lavatory is unoccupied(operation 602). If the lavatory is not unoccupied or, in other words,occupied, the process returns to operation 600 as described above.Otherwise, if the lavatory is unoccupied, a determination may be made asto whether the lavatory has been occupied a selected number of timessince a previous disinfection of the lavatory (operation 604).

In operation 604, the previous disinfection is the most recentperformance of a fully completed disinfection process. In someillustrative examples, operation 604 may include determining whether aselected amount of time has passed since a previous disinfection of thelavatory in addition to or in place of the determination as to whetherthe lavatory has been occupied a selected number of times since aprevious disinfection of the lavatory.

If the lavatory has not been occupied the selected number of times sincethe previous disinfection of the lavatory, the process returns tooperation 600 as described above. Otherwise, a determination may be madeas to whether the door to the lavatory is closed (operation 606).

In one illustrative example, the door to the lavatory may be consideredclosed when the door is fully closed. If the door to the lavatory is notclosed, the process returns to operation 600 as described above.Otherwise, if the door to the lavatory is closed, a disinfection systemis activated to perform a disinfection process inside the lavatory usingfar-ultraviolet radiation (operation 608). In operation 608, activationof the disinfection system places the disinfection system in an activemode.

The door to the lavatory may be monitored during the disinfectionprocess (operation 610). A determination may be made as to whether thedoor to the lavatory has been opened during the disinfection process orthe disinfection process has been completed (operation 612). Inoperation 612, the door may be considered open even if the door is onlypartially opened.

If either the door to the lavatory has been opened during thedisinfection process or the disinfection process has been completed, thedisinfection system is deactivated to place the disinfection system inan inactive mode (operation 614), with the process then returning tooperation 600 as described above. However, if the door has not beenopened and the disinfection process has not been completed, the processreturns to operation 610 as described above.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the different depicted embodimentsillustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of somepossible implementations of apparatuses and methods in an illustrativeembodiment. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts or blockdiagrams may represent a module, a segment, a function, and/or a portionof an operation or step.

In some alternative implementations of an illustrative embodiment, thefunction or functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the ordernoted in the figures. For example, in some cases, two blocks shown insuccession may be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be performed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. Also, other blocks may be added in addition tothe illustrated blocks in a flowchart or block diagram.

For example, in some cases, a determination that the door to thelavatory is not closed in operation 606 in FIG. 6 may cause a doorclosing mechanism to be automatically engaged instead of the processreturning to operation 600. Once engaged, the door closing mechanism mayclose the door to the lavatory and the process may then proceed tooperation 608.

The illustrative embodiments of the disclosure may be described in thecontext of aircraft manufacturing and service method 700 as shown inFIG. 7 and aircraft 800 as shown in FIG. 8. Turning first to FIG. 7, anillustration of an aircraft manufacturing and service method is depictedin the form of a block diagram in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. During pre-production, aircraft manufacturing and servicemethod 700 may include specification and design 702 of aircraft 800 inFIG. 8 and material procurement 704.

During production, component and subassembly manufacturing 706 andsystem integration 708 of aircraft 800 in FIG. 8 takes place.Thereafter, aircraft 800 in FIG. 8 may go through certification anddelivery 710 in order to be placed in service 712. While in service 712by a customer, aircraft 800 in FIG. 8 is scheduled for routinemaintenance and service 714, which may include modification,reconfiguration, refurbishment, and other maintenance or service.

Each of the processes of aircraft manufacturing and service method 700may be performed or carried out by a system integrator, a third party,and/or an operator. In these examples, the operator may be a customer.For the purposes of this description, a system integrator may include,without limitation, any number of aircraft manufacturers andmajor-system subcontractors; a third party may include, withoutlimitation, any number of vendors, subcontractors, and suppliers; and anoperator may be an airline, a leasing company, a military entity, aservice organization, and so on.

With reference now to FIG. 8, an illustration of an aircraft is depictedin the form of a block diagram in which an illustrative embodiment maybe implemented. In this example, aircraft 800 is produced by aircraftmanufacturing and service method 700 in FIG. 7 and may include airframe802 with plurality of systems 804 and interior 806. Examples of systems804 include one or more of propulsion system 808, electrical system 810,hydraulic system 812, and environmental system 814. Any number of othersystems may be included. Although an aerospace example is shown,different illustrative embodiments may be applied to other industries,such as the automotive industry.

The apparatuses and methods embodied herein may be employed during atleast one of the stages of aircraft manufacturing and service method 700in FIG. 7. In particular, lavatory disinfection system 100 from FIG. 1may be installed on aircraft 800 during any one of the stages ofaircraft manufacturing and service method 700. For example, withoutlimitation, lavatory disinfection system 100 from FIG. 1 may beinstalled on aircraft 800 during at least one of component andsubassembly manufacturing 706, system integration 708, routinemaintenance and service 714, or some other stage of aircraftmanufacturing and service method 700. Still further, lavatorydisinfection system 100 from FIG. 1 may be used while aircraft 800 is inservice 712 in FIG. 7.

In one illustrative example, components or subassemblies produced incomponent and subassembly manufacturing 706 in FIG. 7 may be fabricatedor manufactured in a manner similar to components or subassembliesproduced while aircraft 800 is in service 712 in FIG. 7. As yet anotherexample, one or more apparatus embodiments, method embodiments, or acombination thereof may be utilized during production stages, such ascomponent and subassembly manufacturing 706 and system integration 708in FIG. 7. One or more apparatus embodiments, method embodiments, or acombination thereof may be utilized while aircraft 800 is in service 712and/or during maintenance and service 714 in FIG. 7. The use of a numberof the different illustrative embodiments may substantially expedite theassembly of and/or reduce the cost of aircraft 800.

The description of the different illustrative embodiments has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description, and is notintended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments in the formdisclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art. Further, different illustrativeembodiments may provide different features as compared to otherdesirable embodiments. The embodiment or embodiments selected are chosenand described in order to best explain the principles of theembodiments, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinaryskill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodimentswith various modifications as are suited to the particular usecontemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a disinfection system toperform a disinfection process inside a lavatory when the lavatory isnot in use, wherein the disinfection system is inactive when thelavatory is in use; and an activation system that controls activationand deactivation of the disinfection system; wherein the disinfectionsystem comprises a source of far ultraviolet radiation, the sourcelocated in or on a ceiling of the lavatory to perform the disinfectionprocess on at least one surface inside the lavatory.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the activation system activates the disinfection systemin response to a determination that a set of criteria has been met,wherein the set of criteria includes the lavatory being unoccupied andat least one of a door to the lavatory being closed, the lavatory havingbeen occupied a selected number of times since a previous disinfectionof the lavatory, or a selected amount of time having passed since theprevious disinfection of the lavatory.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the activation system comprises: a sensor system that detectswhether the lavatory is occupied or unoccupied and whether the door tothe lavatory is closed or open.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein theactivation system further comprises: a controller that receivesinformation from the sensor system, determines whether the set ofcriteria has been met based on the information, and activates thedisinfection system to place the disinfection system in an active modein response to the determination that the set of criteria has been met.5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the controller deactivates thedisinfection system to place the disinfection system in an inactive modewhen the door to the lavatory is opened prior to completion of thedisinfection process.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein thecontroller deactivates the disinfection system to place the disinfectionsystem in an inactive mode after completion of the disinfection process.7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: a reflective materialapplied to a plurality of surfaces inside the lavatory to reflect thefar-ultraviolet radiation onto at least one selected surface inside thelavatory.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the disinfection systemcomprises: an ultraviolet radiation source that emits thefar-ultraviolet radiation, wherein the far-ultraviolet radiation has awavelength between about 150 nanometers and about 240 nanometers.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the disinfection system further comprises:a number of reflector devices that reflect the far-ultraviolet radiationonto at least one selected surface inside the lavatory.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 1 further comprising: an indicator device associatedwith an exterior of the lavatory, wherein the indicator device displaysa visual indication of whether the disinfection system is in an activemode or in an inactive mode.
 11. An aircraft incorporating the apparatusof claim
 1. 12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: amechanism for lifting a lid of a toilet in the lavatory to expose thelid to the far-ultraviolet radiation, wherein, responsive to anactivation of the disinfection system, the mechanism lifts the lid ofthe toilet to expose the lid to the far-ultraviolet radiation.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a reflective material appliedto a plurality of surfaces inside the lavatory to reflect thefar-ultraviolet radiation onto one or more selected surfaces inside thelavatory; wherein the source directs the far-ultraviolet radiation atthe reflective material in order to disinfect the one or more selectedsurfaces.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the selected surfacesare a floor surface around a toilet of the lavatory, a drawer handle ora cabinet knob, and a sink surface in and around a sink in the lavatory.15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a number of reflectivedevices inside the lavatory to reflect the far-ultraviolet radiationonto an external surface of a toilet; wherein the source directs thefar-ultraviolet radiation at the number of reflective devices in orderto disinfect the external surface of the toilet.
 16. A method fordisinfecting a lavatory, the method comprising: determining whether aset of criteria for activation of a disinfection system to perform adisinfection process inside the lavatory has been met; and activatingthe disinfection system to perform the disinfection process inside thelavatory in response to a determination that the set of criteria hasbeen met; wherein the disinfection system comprises a source of farultraviolet radiation, the source located in or on a wall of thelavatory and configured to perform the disinfection process on at leastone surface inside the lavatory.
 17. The method of claim 16, whereindetermining whether the set of criteria has been met comprises:determining whether the lavatory is unoccupied; determining whether thelavatory has been occupied a selected number of times since a previousdisinfection of the lavatory; and determining whether a door to thelavatory is closed.
 18. The method of claim 16 further comprising:deactivating the disinfection system to place the disinfection system inan inactive mode after completion of the disinfection process.
 19. Themethod of claim 16 further comprising: monitoring a door to the lavatoryusing a sensor system; and deactivating the disinfection system to placethe disinfection system in an inactive mode in response to a detectionby the sensor system of the door to the lavatory being opened during thedisinfection process.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein deactivatingthe disinfection system comprises: halting emission of thefar-ultraviolet radiation from an ultraviolet radiation source in lessthan a second after the detection by the sensor system that the door tothe lavatory has opened.
 21. The method of claim 16 further comprising:reflecting the far-ultraviolet radiation onto at least one selectedsurface in the lavatory using at least one of a number of reflectordevices located inside the lavatory or a reflective material on aplurality of surfaces inside the lavatory.
 22. The method of claim 16further comprising: emitting the far-ultraviolet radiation from at leastone ultraviolet radiation source.
 23. A method for disinfecting alavatory, the method comprising: determining whether the lavatory isunoccupied; determining whether the lavatory has been occupied aselected number of times since a previous disinfection of the lavatory,in response to a determination that the lavatory is unoccupied;determining whether a door to the lavatory is closed in response to adetermination that the lavatory has been occupied the selected number oftimes since the previous disinfection of the lavatory; activating adisinfection system to perform a disinfection process inside thelavatory in response to a determination that the door is closed; anddeactivating the disinfection system after completion of thedisinfection process; wherein the disinfection system comprises a sourceof far ultraviolet radiation located in or on a ceiling or a wall of thelavatory and configured to perform the disinfection process on at leastone surface inside the lavatory.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23, whereinthe vehicle is an aerospace vehicle selected from one of an aircraft, aspacecraft, a space shuttle, and a space station.
 25. The method ofclaim 23 further comprising: monitoring the door to the lavatory duringthe disinfection process; and deactivating the disinfection system inresponse to a detection of the door to the lavatory being opened duringthe disinfection process.
 26. The method of claim 23 further comprising:maintaining the disinfection system in an inactive mode in response to adetermination that the lavatory is unoccupied or a determination thatthe door to the lavatory is not closed.